Leisure Suit Larry is an adult-themed video game series created by Al Lowe. It was published by Sierra from 1987 to 2009, then by Codemasters from 2009 to 2014, then by Sierra Entertainment again after August 2014. The games follow Larry Laffer, a balding, double entendre-speaking, leisure suit-wearing man in his 40s. The game play revolves around him attempting, usually unsuccessfully, to seduce attractive women.

The series had its origins in Sierra's earlier Softporn Adventure, a 1981 text adventure created by designer Chuck Benton;[1] the story and basic structure from that game were reused for the first "Larry" game. The "Larry" games were one of Sierra's most popular game series during the genre's heyday when it was first released in the mid-1980s.[citation needed] The series contains the only games produced by Sierra that contain significant sexual themes.

In general, the games follow the escapades of Larry Laffer as he attempts to convince a variety of nubile women to sleep with him. A common link between the games are Larry's explorations of luxurious and cosmopolitan hotels, ships, beaches, resorts, and casinos. The character of Larry Laffer was voiced by Jan Rabson.

After the first game, the series – despite becoming known for its lewd content – gained a reputation for not featuring as much sexual material as expected; this was particularly true of the middle games in the series,[citation needed] which were released at the same time as more explicit games, like Cobra Mission. At most, the raunchier moments were usually hidden as Easter eggs. Things became racier again toward the end of the series, particularly in the (original) final installment, Love for Sail!

In June 2011, Replay Games announced on their blog that they had acquired a license for the Leisure Suit Larry series. Replay Games planned to re-release the titles it licensed. It was also announced that the series' creator, Al Lowe, would be involved with the development of the new releases.[3] In April 2012, Replay Games initiated a Kickstarter project[4] that finished funding on May 2, 2012 and secured a total of $674,598, for which the developers promised to add more story, additional dialogue, and one more character.[5]

The "HD" game, titled Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards: Reloaded was originally announced to be released in late 2012, but it was delayed to mid-2013. In April 2013, Lowe said that early development had begun on a remake of Larry 2;[6]Josh Mandel later confirmed the game's early development in a Kickstarter update.[7] On August 7, 2014, Sierra's website was re-activated, with a new logo and a message saying "More to be revealed at Gamescom 2014."[8] As a result, Leisure Suit Larry licensing would revert to Sierra Entertainment.

Leisure Suit Larry 8, tentatively subtitled Lust in Space (as well as Explores Uranus in some references), was in full development in 1998 until funding was cut. Shortly afterwards, Sierra's adventure games department was disbanded, and Al Lowe left Sierra on February 22, 1999. Like the canned Space Quest sequel, Larry 8 was to feature 3D computer graphics, but no more than a few test renders now survive.[9] The game Leisure Suit Larry: Explores Uranus, as well as its teaser, was referenced in Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail! triggered with an Easter egg, as well as a teaser after completing the game. In 2013, Al Lowe pointed out that this title is still being considered, with support from series co-writer Josh Mandel. Lowe stated that even though he would like to complete the Reloaded series first, Leisure Suit Larry 8 is "absolutely" still in the works.[6]

Leisure Suit Larry: Pocket Party was the canceled game in the series that was supposed to be released in the second half of 2005 for the N-Gage. The publishers were Vivendi and Nokia, while the developer was TKO-Software.[10] In the game, players would explore a 3D college campus, while solving puzzles and engaging in risque activities. As they search for the ultimate good time, gamers bump into Rosie Palmer, the head cheerleader at Larry's college. Attempting to win over Rosie's heart, Larry is thoroughly embarrassed by her jock boyfriend Chuck Rockwell, but humiliation has never stopped Larry before and he is determined to do anything to be with Rosie.[11] In addition to single-player game play, players could also wirelessly square off against an opponent in four different turn-based mini-games.[10]

In late 2005, Target department stores (through online vendor Amazon.com) began accepting pre-orders for a sequel to Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude titled Leisure Suit Larry: Cocoa Butter. This new game was being developed for the PC, PS2, Xbox, and PSP systems, but has since been canceled.

Larry 3-Pack (1991): This collection included the first three games that were available at the time.

Leisure Suit Larry's Greatest Hits & Misses (1994): This CD collection included all the Larry games up to Larry 6, including both versions of the original game, the VGA (non-talkie) floppy version of Larry 6, the Laffer Utilities and the original Softporn game. A limited edition print of the Leisure Suit Larry book was also included, titled "My Scrapbook".

Leisure Suit Larry: Collection Series (1997): This two-CD collection included everything the previous collection contained, plus the VGA and SVGA CD talkie versions of Larry 6, a Larry 7 preview, and Larry's Big Score: Pinball. This was the only collection to include The Official Book of LSL (Perfectbound Edition).

Leisure Suit Larry: The Ultimate Pleasure Pack (2000): This four-CD collection was, again, otherwise identical to the one before it except that it also included the 1998 Larry's Casino and the full version of Love for Sail!

Leisure Suit Larry Collection (2006): This barebones collection only contains the first six Larry games originally released on floppies (substituting the Larry 1 VGA remake for the EGA original, and excluding the full-talkie CD edition of Larry 6). According to www.Allowe.com, Vivendi excluded Love for Sail! from the collection in fear that the hidden Easter egg ending would give the collection an Adults Only rating. Unlike previous collections, this one does not come with any printed documentation (instead including PDF files containing the original manuals for copy protection purposes) and the games are loaded through DOSBox.

Leisure Suit Larry: Greatest Hits and Misses! (2013): Downloadable release on GOG.com by Codemasters (later Sierra Entertainment in August 7, 2014). It includes Larry 1-6 (including both EGA and VGA remake of Larry 1, and the VGA and SVGA talkie versions of Larry 6) and Softporn Adventure. The SVGA version of Larry 6 was slipped in during an update.[12]Larry 7 is sold separately. These are the first SierraLeisure Suit Larry video games to be distributed by Activision Blizzard.

Leisure Suit Larry's Datebook (unreleased): Mentioned in a 1992 Sierra Catalogue as "Larry speaks! Custom Larry screens pop on to tell you about meetings, birthdays, work habits, and hard-drive hygiene! Let Larry organize your life. Scary, huh?" It was never released; according to Al Lowe, he did not even know it existed.

Larry Pops Up! (1996): A non productivity utility program and screensaver released as a promo for Larry 7.[13]

Leisure Suit Larry's Casino (1998) in which Larry Laffer is running a casino. The game offers five casino games, three party games, a full gift shop, three restaurants, three bars and a few surprises. Also featured is an online component which allowed for players to upgrade their hotel room and participate in other online-only activities. It is part of the Crazy Nick's Software Picks line of games, includes slot machine, blackjack, and poker taken from the In the Land of the Lounge Lizards VGA remake and Larry 5.

The Official Book of Leisure Suit Larry (1990) (written by Al Lowe and Ralph Roberts, containing background information and hint guides). The book was revised and edited so that there was a second (1991), a third (1993), and a fourth (1997) edition, and Special Edition (released with Larry Collection).

The Authorized Uncensored Leisure Suit Larry Bedside Companion (1990) (written by Peter Spear), containing the stories of the first three Leisure Suit Larry games, as well as detailed walkthroughs, point lists and maps). The book, like other Sierra books by Peter Spear such as The King's Quest Companion, was revised and edited so that there was a second edition (1991) covering Larry 5.

The series was ranked as the 85th top game of all time by Next Generation in 1996, for how "the designers have managed to work in enough campy humor and bad puns to keep the game going through five more installments over nine years."[19]